Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The Pause That Refreshes

We had a break today. The heat and humidity disappeared and was replaced by high 70-degree weather and no humidity. It meant I could go outside to weed in the morning for an hour or so and not have to wear a towel around my neck. The rains yesterday made the ground soft for pulling up the invasive crab grass and that newcomer, the Japanese stilt grass! When I was done I went inside for my second cup of coffee. While sipping on it and looking out the patio window I saw this...

That crazy ten-foot sunflower plant in the pot on my deck had attracted two hummingbirds. Both were territorial and fought for space making it twice as hard to capture them. But, as you can see, my sunflower is blooming very well!

While I have not seen the goldfinch, I expect them any day as the first blossom in the photo above is drying and producing seed.

I could see the little hummers flitting through the trees as I sat on the patio waiting for them to return. They are such fierce fighters with each other. One even flew up to my face within two feet as if trying to figure out my species.

when we still lived in the city we had a huge hummingbird bush (10 - 12' tall) that was in full bloom nearly all the time. it would attract a lot of hummers who spent all their time chasing each other off from a bush that had plenty for everyone.

Sometimes hummingbirds can appear to be an invasion of the body snatchers. My daughter attracted so many on their deck it was almost scary to go out there. Yours are quite lovely and not the least bit threatening.